Charges of corruption have left the UPA Government under siege. As the Cabinet goes to war with itself and the party undermines the Government, decision making is paralysed. In just two years, the Congress mandate looks like a mirage.

Manmohan Singh's dilemma is unenviable. He still cannot make up his mind whether he has been elected by the people of India or selected by Sonia Gandhi. 'Both' is a compromise that survives in calm waters but comes apart at the first hint of turbulence.

Rugby may not be a religion in India but it has its hidden treasures. Meet Hrishikesh Pendse, 24, who has just signed a one-year contract with a Japanese company, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers, to become the first Indian to play in Top League, Japan's premier domestic league.

Indian-origin couple Dilip, 55, and Jaya Sontakey, 50, owners of California-based record label Starbugs Records, are on a talent hunt across the world, looking for Indians who can write, compose and perform western music.

Beejoli Shah, a 23-year-old politics graduate from the University of California Berkeley, doesn't like Quentin Tarantino's "seminal films" such as Kill Bill, but is okay "making out with him for the story" as she said in an email to her friends.

The Harry Potter film series made Emma Watson, 20, a star. She's all grown up now and striking sultry poses for global glossies. As the epic saga finally draws to a close this July, Watson talks about growing up with Pottermania and life beyond Hogwarts.

CustomFrequent repetition of the same act. After Minissha Lamba and Bipasha Basu, it's Anushka Sharma's turn to grab headlines for her detention at customs. It is the new customary route to 15 more seconds of fame.

After setting a world record of 29 consecutive quarterfinal appearances in Grand Slams, Roger Federer was knocked out of the Wimbledon semi-finals by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Disappointed fans are hoping this won't be his swan Tsonga.

Ahluwalia sanctioned a Plan outlay of Rs 38,000 crore to Gujarat, against Rs 37,150 crore originally demanded. The only qualification? That Modi step up focus on the social sector. Montek-Modi bhai bhai?

The Government has just chosen retired finance secretary Ashok Chawla as the new chairman. Two serving members of the Commission, H.C. Gupta and Anurag Goel, have objected citing their seniority to Chawla.

Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav wants to be a writer. The former RJD MP, currently in Jail, is pouring his woes into a personal diary, which he hopes to convert into a book. The title? Das Juta Maar Lo Lekin Bahubali Mat Bolo (Hit Me Ten Times But Don't Call Me a Don). So, will godfather do?

How does Defence Minister A.K. Antony stay out of controversy? Simple. By referring key decisions to the law ministry. First it was the fracas over Army chief General V.K. Singh's date of birth, then the appointment of Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha as the chief of integrated staff command.

How does Defence Minister A.K. Antony stay out of controversy? Simple. By referring key decisions to the law ministry. First it was the fracas over Army chief General V.K. Singh's date of birth, then the appointment of Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha as the chief of integrated staff command.

Today, the 26-year-old Shruti Merchant has directed her own musical, Taj Express-The Musical, a modern-day love story. The show, which is a mix of Bollywood songs and a few others composed by duo Salim-Suleiman, will preview in Mumbai on July 10.

Remember the husky voice behind the song Khoya khoya chand in Shaitan as guns blazed in the foreground? For Suman Sridhar, 28, who also sang the remixed version of Hawa hawai in the same film, life has been on a high.

Calcutta's streets should be cleared of pavement dwellers and, in their place, we should plant flowers along sidewalks and bring smiles back into the lives of our people. Let the blossoms of the Trinamool symbol bring about a flowering in the spirits of our dejected elders and frustrated brothers and sisters.

Since Henry Kissinger's magisterial tome is about China and the United States, world powers without peer, it must be an accident that his prologue starts with the 1962 Sino-Indian war. But he doesn't gloat on India's defeat; in fact, references to India are studiedly neutral for the votary of realpolitik knows that India, too, is a rising power.

The Mumbai underworld, police and politicians make for a deadly combination ("Overlords of the Underworld", June 27). Their relationship is causing irreparable damage to society. A stricter law must be enacted soon to tackle the mafia menace.

For Jivya Some, Warli tribesman, has this year won not only the Master Craftsman Award in recognition of the artistic excellence of his work, but this month, 12 of his paintings were flown to be exhibited in Biennale, Europe's most prestigious art event which opens in Menten, France on July 2nd.